Sanitary water-closet.



W. U. REBS. SANITARY WATER GLOSET. APPLIoATI'bN FILED JUNE25,1913.

W. C. REBS.

SANITARY WATER GLGSET.

APPLICATION FILED JUNB25,1913.

1,092,892. Patented Apr. 7, 1914 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Own/esse@ l A Inventor Mm. @Mmm i i q m? 'WARREN C. EEES, OF SGM'EIRLVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT Mll? MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0' ASEPTIC SERVICE COMFANY, 0F' BOSTON, MASSACHU- SETTS, A CORPORATION 0F MAINE.

SANIIRY VATER-CIJOSET.

Losses-e.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. "t, agita.

Application tiled June 25, 1913. Serial No. 'tf-75,6%.

To all whom, it may concer/n Be it known that I, WARREN C. BEES, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Somerville, in the county of Middlesex vand State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Sanitary Water-Closets, of which the following is a speciication.

My invention relates to sanitary toilet closets, and its object is to provide a seat which shall be concealed and protected in a casing when not in use, and which may be automatically brought into the proper position over the bowl when desired, together with automatic means for feeding fresh. sections of strip paper over the surface of the seat, and means for automatically returning the seat after use to its normal position within the casing. In all other devices of a similar character the seat and some portion of the paper are at all times exposed; both are therefore subjected to the possibility of contamination, and the paper covering as well to accidental. tearing or wilful destruction by vandals.

The chief novelty of my invention resides in the employment of a seat composed of two separate sections disposed on opposite sides of the bowl, each adapted to be automatically reciprocated between its position within a compartment in the main casing, and the usual seat position over the bowl there to serve as one side of the seat. Thus I am able to provide a closet in which the seat is never exposed, but, on the other hand, is concealed and protected in a casing at all times, except when it is desired to use the seat in addition to the bowl. The numerous advantages of such an arrangement are obvious. Furthermore the reciprocating movement of the seat sides is utilized to draw fresh sections of strip paper covering from the reservoir roll over the surfaces exposed `to contact with the body. The/seat sections aminatlon of the principal features embodied. I do not limit myself to use only in.

connection with the paper covering, as my device may where desired be used without this feature, in which case the surface of the seat exposed to the body is protected by the casing whenever the bowl is used merely as urinal or as a receptacle for waste. The preferred form however for all public lavatories should include the seat covering feature. Nor do Ilimit myself to the use of paper as the material for the covering when that feature is employed; any substance adapted to protect the body from direct contact with the seat surfaces is claimed to be within the scope of this invention.

In the accompanying drawing, in which like numerals represent like parts in the varlous figures thereof, Figure 1 is a plan view p artly 1n section exposing a portion of the right side mechanism. Fig. 2 is a section on. l1ne 2-2 of Fig. 3 showing the right side reciprocating mechanism, part of which is also shown in dotted position. Fig. 3 is a front elevation partly in section showing the right side of a bowl and the right side of my device attached thereto with the front casing plate removed. Fig. Lt is a section showing the left side mechanism in the seat position. Fig. 5 is a detailed section on line 5 5 of Fig. 3 with casing broken away. Fig. 6 is a detailed perspective ofthe rocker arm 11 and lever 16. Fig. 7 is a detailed section elevation on line 7-7 of Fig. 3 showing the release plunger. Fig. 8 is a detailed section on line 8-8 of. Fig. 4 showing a portion of the take-up spool rotating mechanism.

Referring to the drawing, 1 represents an ordinary water closet bowl.

2 is the casing, inclosing and supporting the mechanism of my device, hung from the main frame 3 which is secured to the bowl l not in use. This compartment also serves .to conceal and protect the right side paper feeding and reciprocating mechanism. t 6 isa slot in the seat' section 5, which engagesa rod 7 one extremity of which is secured to the front and the other to the rear of the casing 2 thus limiting the extent of the reciprocation of the seat section 5.

. 8 is a foot treadle adapted to actuate the mechanism of both sides simultaneously, sus pended from the crank 9 on the rock-shaft l0 journaled in bearings in the casing 2.

I and the lever 16.

Referring to Fig. 2, the opposite extremity of the lever 16 is connected byi the ball and socket joint 18 with the lower end of the driving rod 19, pivoted at. its upper end to the right s ide of the seat section 5 at 12. 20 is a lever, one end of which is pivoted at 21 to the bracket 22 secured to the casing, and connected at its other extremity by the ball and socket joint 23 with the lower end of the driving rod 24 pivoted at its upper end to the left side ofthe seat section 5 at 13. The lever 16 carries a pin 25 which slidably engages a slot 26 in the lever 20; the levers ,16 and 20 thus form a scissors movement which operates to reciprocate the driving rods 19 and 24. 27 is a spiral spring connected at 'one extremity with a projecting arm 28 on the lever 16, 'and at the other with a similar projecting arm. 29 on the lever 20; this spring serves to draw the arms 28 and 29 toward ea'ch other and thus Withdraw the seat section 5 from the position over the bowl to its normal 'position within the compartment 4.. 30 yis an arm projecting downward from'the .lever 16, and pivoted at its lower end tothe outer extremity of the piston rod 31 of the air 'check chamber 32 pivoted -at 33 lto the bracket 22. The function of this air chamber is vto prevent racing the recprocation of the scissors movement, and consequent shock and undue wear and tear to the ener'al driving mechanism of the-seat section. 34 and 35 are trap doors in the casing 42, hinged respectively at 34a and 35a, which are automatically 'opened during the movement of the seat section 5 from its position within the compartment 4 to the seat position over the bowl, and automatically closed during the retreatv of the seat section to the normal position within the compartment. The mechanism for openin and closing the trap .door 35 consists or the sprocket 65 fixed to the hinge shaft 35b of the door35v and protected by the housing 37 raised from the casing, the sprocket lchain 66, the belt 69 and the spiral spring 67. The spring 67 is secured at its lower extremity to the casing at 68; to the upper extremity is secured one end of the chain 66 which passes over the sprocket v65 and is secured at its other end to one extremity ofthe belt 69. The belt 69 passes over the guide pulley 70 mounted in bearings on the bracket 22, and is secured at its other extremity to the arm 29 on the lever 20. Thus the tension of the spring 67 on the one hand and the pull ofthe arm 29y on the other tend respectively to open and close the door 35. The door 34 is forced open by the pressure of the seat section 5 as the latter swings down to the seat position and is automatically closed during the retreat of vthe seat section by the action of a torsion spring 36 one end of which is secured to the door, the other to the casing.

The device'which serves the double pur- 4pose of locking the driving mechanism against operation, and locking the seat section 5 in the position over the bowl, consists of the following parts: Referring to Fig. 7, 38 is a horizontally disposed rock shaft supported in the trough bearing 71 securedto the main frame 3 at 72. 73 is a vertically disposed curved lever fixed at afpoint between its extremities to the right end of the shaft 38, carrying near its lower end a shoulder 74 adapted to engage the under side of the projecting pin 75 on the rocker arm 11 andprevent depression of the rocker arm, thus locking the entire driving mechanism :of the seat sections against operation. 76 is a forwardly projecting button secured to the upper extremity of the lever 73 by which the lever may be thrown and the driving mechanism unlocked. 77 is a spiral spring, secured at one end to the casing at'78 and at its vother end to the lever 73 at a point below the ,bearing 71, which tends to hold the lever 73 Yin the normal position shown, in Fig. 2. The lower end of the lever 73 is so constructed that it will engage the upper side of the pin y7 5 when the rocker arm l1 is depressed to the extreme point, and thus lock the seat section 5 in the position over the. bowl. Fixed to the left end of the shaft 38 is the rearwardly projecting lever 79 pivoted to the lower extremity of the plunger 80. 81 is a housing for the plunger 80 supported on the bracket 82 secured to the main frame 3. 39v is a stop mounted on the `housing 81 which. serves as a support for the front edge of the seat section 5 when in the position'over the bowl. The plunger 80, it will be noted, projects above the stop 39 so that the seat section 5 ir'st comes in contact with the top of the plunger where it rests until further depressed by the weight of the occupant. until the seat section rests on the stop; the lever 73 is thus thrown Aby the depression of the plunger, and the lower end disengaged from the pin 75, automatically releasing the seat section from its locked position over the bowl. '39*I is a stop formed integral with the raised back 3a of the frame 3 which serves as a support for the rear edge of the seat section 5. 40 is a supply spool journaled in bearings secured tothe casing 2 and to thel swinging arm 4l, adapted to carry the roll of clean paper from whichv the'fresh strip 42 is fed over the surface of the seat section 5 4during the reciprocating movement of the the left of my device,

Ato

- stant latter. 43 is a guide roll over which the fresh strip 42 passes from the supply spool to the surface ofthe seat section 5. 44 is the take-up spool journaled in bearings on the casing 2 and the swinging arm 41, on which the strip of used paper 17 is Wound automatically during the retreat of the seat section 5 from the position over the bowl to the position within the compartment 4. 45 is an arm 'projectin from the ball and socket joint 18 to which is secured one end of the belt 46. From the arm 45 the belt 46 passes over the guide pulley 47, the pulley 48 rotatably mounted on the shaft 49 of the take-up spool 44, `the guide pulley 50, the idler 51, and the pulley 52 fast to the upper end of the spiral spring 53, and thence to the wall of the casing 2 where the other end is secured at 54. The function of the belt 46 is to drive the take-up spool 44 during the retreat of the seat section. 55 is a ratchet rotatably mounted on the shaft 49 and fast to the pulley 48. 56 is a pawl carried on the take-up spool 44, adapted to engage the ratchet 55, and thus rotate the spool 44 during the retreat of the seat section. 57 .is a pawl pivoted at 59 to the casing 2 and adapted to engage the ratchet 58 secured to the take-up spool 44 and prevent unwinding rotation of the latter.l rlhe spring 53 is secured at its lower end to the casing 2 at 6() in any suitable manner, and its tension maintains during the retreat of the seat section 5 a conpull on the belt 46 with a resultant tendency to rotate the spool 44 clockwise and take up any possible slack in the paper strip fed from the reservoir spool. The arm 41 is supported in the hinge 61 in the casing 2 and may be swung outward to permit of the removal of used paper from the spool 44 and the substitution of a fresh roll on the reservoir spool 40. In its normal position the arm'41 is locked to the casing at 62 by the removable pin 63. 64 is a guide roll over which the strip 17 of used paper'passes from the seat section 5 to the take-up spool 44. The mechanism described is duplicated at diering only in lateral reversal of the relative positions of the parts, the construction and functions remaining the same,

and both sets of elements being actuated by common means, the treadle 8.

rEhe When it is desired to use ton 76 is pressed inwardly; the lever 73 is thus thrown and the shoulder 74 disengaged from the pin 75. This releases the driving mechanism from the locked position shown in Fig. 2, and the foot treadle 8 may now be depressed. The depression of the treadle 8 to its eXtreme limit swings the crank 9 method of operation is as follows: the seat the but downward through an are of approximately degrees. This movement of the crank is transmitted through the shaft 10 to the rod 24.

rocker arm 11 and thence through the connecting piece` 14 to the lever 16, the extremities of which describe arcs of corresponding proportions, the left end (referring to Fig. 2) downward, the right end upward. As the right end of the lever 16 is raised, the driving rod 19 is carried with it; simultaneously the pin 25 is brought to bear against the upper edge of the slot 26 in the lever 20, and the latter is swung upward on its pivot 21, carrying with it thedriving As the driving rods 19 and 24 are raised, they force the seat section 5 vertically upward until the rod 7 engages the lower end of the slot 6. At this point the seat section becomes a lever with the rod 7 the fulcrum, and the continued upward movement of the driving rods causes the upper end of the'seat section to swing downward until it rests in the seat position upon the top of the'plunger 80. During Athis movement of the seat section from the position within the compartment 4 to the position over the bowl the doors 34 and 35 are opened in the following manner: As the lever 20 is raised, the arm 29 swings to the right (referring to Fig. 2) thus permitting the tension of the spring 67 to pull the chain 66 downward (referring now to Fig. 3) and impart a clockwise motion to the teeth of the sprocket 65. The sprocket being fast to the hinge shaft 35b swings the door 35 open during the sprocket movement just described, which ceases when the seat section 5 reaches the position over the bowl and the arm 29 comes to rest. The door 35 is then held in the open position until the seat section commences its retreat. As the seat section 5 swings from the vertical position down to the seat position,'it comes in contact with the door 34 and forces it to swing open on its hinge 34a. As the foot treadle 8 is depressed to its extreme limit the pin 75 on the arm 11 passes beyond the lower eX- tremity of the lever 73 which is then drawn by the spring 77 over the pin 75 so as to engage the latter and lock the mechanism thus holding the seat section 5 in the position over the bowl. During the advance of the seat section 5 from the position within the compartment 4 to the position over the bowl the pawl 57 in engagement with the ratchet 58 on the take-up spool 44 prevents unwinding rotation of the latter, and a fresh section 42 of clean paper is drawn from the reservoir spool 40 over the surface of the seat section which Yis exposed to contact with the body of the occupant. The seat is now ready for use, the left sidevseat section having been simultaneously brought into its proper position by the operation of the duplicate mechanism of the left side of the device, which as already stated is also actuatedby the depression of the treadle 8. As thel weight of the occupant is "brought to bear upon the seat section 5, the plunger 80 is vdepressed until the seat section rests on the position stop 39. The depression of the plunger 80 swings the lever 79 down thus rocking the shaft 38 sufficiently to throw the lever 73 and disengage its lower end from the pin 75. This unlocks the mechanism, and the seat sections are now held in the position over the bowl only by the weight of the occupant.. As the occupant rises the spring 27 draws the arms 28 and 29 toward v each other, the driving ends of the levers 16 and 20- are swung downward carrying with them the driving rods 19 and 24 and consequently withdrawing the seat section 5 from the seat position to its normal position within the compartment 4. During the upward swing of the seat section from the horizontal to the vertical position thedoor 34 is closed bythe action of the torsion spring 36, While the'door 35 is closed during the retreat of the seat section by the counter clockwise movement of the sprocket 65 actuated by the ull of the arm 29 transmitted through the elt 69 to the sprocket chain 66.

The slack in the section of paper intervening between the reservoir spool 40 and the take-up spool 44 caused by the retreat of the seat section 5 is absorbed by the rotation of the spool 44 which is actuated as follows: As the driving rod 19 descends, the arm 45 on the ball and socket joint 18 likewise descends, permitting the' tension of the spring 53 to pull the belt 46, `one extremity of which is secured to the arm 45, over the idler 51, guide pulleys 50 and 47 and the pulley 48 fast lto the ratchet 55. This movement of the belt 46 rotates the pulley 48 clockwise; the ratchet 55 being fast tothe ulley 48 is likewise rotated, and through the pawl 56 carried on the take-up spool 44 in engagement with the ratchet 55 this rotation is transmitted to the take-up s ool and the used strip of paper is wound t ereon. When the slack in the strip 17 has been entirely absorbed and the paper becomes taut, the takeup spool ceases to rotate, and the belt 46 merely slips on the pulley 48funtil the arm 45 reaches its normallow. position shown in Fig; 2. This belt slippage is utilized to compensate for the varylng diameter of the roll of used paper on the take-up spool, and will be found to be a most eicient means for this pur ose. 'y As the arm 11 approaches the limit o itsupward movement the pin engages the incline face of the shoulder 74 and slides into the position shown in Fig. 2, locking the device against operation until the mechanism is once more released by pressure on the button 76.

All' the foregoing operations described with relation to the right side mechanism are simultaneously performed by the mechanism of the left side of my device which is as stated identical in construction in every particular with the former, andactuated by the same means, the treadle 8.

What I claim and desire to ters Patent is:

1. In a sanitary toilet;y closet, the combination of a bowl, a reciprocating seat, a compartment adapted to receive said seat, and mechanism adapted to reciprocate said seat between a position over the bowl and its normal pIosition within the compartment.

2.y n a sanitary toilet closet, the combination of a bowl, a seat composed of a plurality of reciprocating sections, compartments adapted to receive said sections, and mechanism adapted to reciprocate said sections between a position over the bowl and their normal position within the compartments.

3. In a sanitary toilet closet, thecombination of a bowl, a seat composed of a lurality of sections, compartments adapte to resecure by Letnism adapted to reciprocate said sections between a position over the bowl and their normal position within the compartments,

said mechanism embodying a lever provided with a slot, and a lever provided with a pin adapted to engage said slot.

4'. In a sanitary toilet closet, the combination of a bowl, a seat composed of a plurality of reciprocating sections, compartments adapted to receive said sections, mechanism adapted to automatically reciprocate said sections between a position over the bowl and their normal position within the compartments, and mechanism adapted to automatically advance strips of paper over the surfaces of the sections.

5. In a sanitary toilet closet, the combination of a bowl, a seat composed of a plurality of reciprocating sections, compartments 'adapted `to receive said sections, mechanism adapted to automatically` reciprocate said sections between a position over the bowl and their normalosition within the compartments, mechanism adapted to automatically advance strips of aper over the surfaces of the sections, ang ing mechanism.

6. In -a sanitary toilet closet, the combination of a bowl, a seat composed of a plurality of reciprocating sections, compartments adapted to 4receive said sections, mechanism adapted to ,advance the sections from their normal position within the compartments to a position over the bowl preparatory to use of the seat, means for locking the sections in the positlon over the bowl, and mechanism for automatically releasing and returning the sections from the position over the bowl to their normal position within the compartments after use of the seat.

7. In a sanitary toilet closet, the combination of a bowl, a seat composed of a plu- .rality of separate reciprocating sections,

a common actuat compartments adapted to receive said secratchet adapted to prevent unwinding r0- tions, means for locking the seat sections "tation of the take-up spool. within said compartments, mechanism 9. In a sanitary toilet closet, the combiadapted to release said .seat sections, and nation of a bowl, a seat composed of a plu- 5 mechanism adapted to advance the seat secrality of separate reciprocating sections, tions from their normal position within the compartments adapted to receive said sec compartments to a position over the bowl tions, and mechanism adapted to reciprocate preparatory to use as a seat. said sections between a position over the 8. In a sanitary toilet closet, the combibowl and their normal position within the 10. nation of a bowl, a seat composed of a plucompartments, said sections being adapted rality of separate reciprocating sections, to drawfresh strips of paper over their surcompartments adapted to receive said secfaces comcldentally with their reciprocation.

tions, mechanism adapted to reciprocate said In testimony. whereof I have hereunto set sections between their normal position with-P my hand in presence of two subscribingA 15 ir said compartments, md ai positon over witnesses, this 23rd day of June, 1913.

t e bowl and means a apte to a Vance a v strip of paper over the surfaces of said seo- WARREN C' BEES' tions, said means embodying a vreservoir Witnesses: spool, a take-up spool, a belt adapted to ro- CARROLL L. PERKINS,

i 20 tate the take-up spool, and a pawl and HAROLD C. HASKELL. 

